Obama Should Lead Movement To End Sex Trafficking, Opinion Piece Says

Main Category: Women's Health / Gynecology
Also Included In: Sexual Health / STDs
Article Date: 07 Jan 2009 - 2:00 PDT

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The victory of President-elect Barack Obama "marks a triumph over the legacy of slavery, so it would be particularly meaningful if he led a new abolitionist movement against 21st century slavery -- like the trafficking of girls into brothels," New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof writes in an opinion piece. Kristof describes the case of Long Pross, a teenage girl in Cambodia who was kidnapped at age 13, forced to work in a brothel and endured numerous beatings and torture. Kristoff writes that Pross was never paid, "and she had no right to insist on condoms. Twice she became pregnant and was subjected to crude abortions." Kristoff recounts that Pross' right eye was gouged out with a piece of metal because the brothel owner became angry that Pross asked for time to recuperate after her second abortion.

"The business model of forced prostitution is remarkably similar from Pakistan to Vietnam -- and sometimes, in the United States as well," Kristof writes, adding, "Pimps use violence, humiliation and narcotics to shatter girls' self-esteem and terrorize them into unquestioning, instantaneous obedience." He adds that after his last column on sex trafficking, he "heard from some skeptical readers doubting that conditions are truly so abusive." Although some prostitutes work voluntarily, "[y]oung girls and foreigners without legal papers are particularly vulnerable" to being forced into sex trafficking, Kristof writes.

Kristof also discusses the Wilberforce Act, recently passed by Congress, which "strengthens sanctions on countries that wink at sex slavery." According to Kristof, the act will provide the incoming administration with a "new tool to fight traffickers." However, "[m]uch will depend on whether" Obama and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton -- Obama's nominee for secretary of state -- "see trafficking as a priority," he writes. Kristof concludes, "There would be powerful symbolism in an African-American president reminding the world that the war on slavery isn't yet over, and helping to lead the 21st century abolitionist movement" (Kristof, New York Times, 1/5).

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